Indaba Music is an online community of musicians from around the world. Singers and songwriters share their ideas and music, network, collaborate on projects using an "online recording studio" (which basically means the software program is at Indaba online, so there's no need for the artists to add additional software to their home computers), and compete for licensing opportunities. Last year, Indaba produced a pair of CD-EPs of Christmas music submitted by the artists in the Indaba community. I don't see the hard copy CDs anywhere any longer, but the digital versions of "Not Your Grandfather's Holiday Album" are available on iTunes (Volume 1 and Volume 2). As I recall, the "rules" last year required the songs to be original reworkings of Public Domain music. I don't recall if we mentioned them at Stubbys last year or not; it was pretty late when I discovered them. No such restrictions this year. This year's holiday set from Indaba is digital only, it appears. But, since the point is getting exposure for independent artists, the six songs will only set you back $3, if buying them all (individual songs are only 69 cents each).

The favorite of the Indaba community, it seems, was an Alt Rock "Silent Night" from Sean Killingsworth. Me, I'm partial to the Indie Pop original from Kennedy Noel, "This Holiday". But certainly there's enough of interest to at least sample the tunes and, at the low price, possibly purchase them.

1. Welcome To The Family2. One Horse Open Sleigh3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town5. Silent Night6. December Rain7. Winter Wonderland8. Christmas Don't Be Late9. Up On The Housetop10. Silent Night Reprise

Christopher Tozzi is a San Francisco musician. He's scored a few PBS documentaries and composed music for a local ballet company. But don't make the mistake of thinking Chris Tozzi doesn't rock. Tozzi's original music is a collision of Joe Satriani and Pink Floyd, with some Vangelis shading and just a dash of Boston. Tozzi's instrumental creations can be rocked out space jams, but he can also wield his instrument with delicacy when called for. It kind of sounds to me like a soundtrack for the old Carl Sagan show, if Sagan had been a rock and roll animal. Christopher Tozzi's music was praised by "Guitar Player" magazine as "a fabulous amalgam of melody, tone, technique, and fury." And his new album, "Olympus Rising" is due out soon.

The big shredder on "A Very Tozzi Christmas" is "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", but Rudolph isn't spared either. "Up On The Housetop" is infused with Hip Hop beats and auto-tune. But I'm particularly fond of what he's done with "Winter Wonderland" and with "December Rain", both of which are pleasantly Ambient.

You won't find "A Very Tozzi Christmas" on Amazon or iTunes or CD Baby. You can only get it direct from Chris himself. Hard copy CDs are very limited and Chris is also your source for digital downloads of the set. I'll let Chris give you the directions:

"Please contact me at christozzi@yahoo.com for your copy!!! In the subject line of your email, please respond with BUY RUDOLPH and I will contact you with the address and instructions to send your payment (you will be immediately sent an mp3 download of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"). Once payment is received, a download of the album will be made immediately to your email. Cd purchasers will also receive the album download, to enjoy the music before the cd is shipped out. As a gift to everyone, a mp3 download of my version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is free!. In the subject line of your email, please respond with FREE RUDOLPH and a free holiday gift will arrive in your email shortly! Merry Christmas from Tozzi!!!"

Zunior, the little Canadian digital store that could, offers up a special holiday collection every year. The songs are always specially recorded for these collections, generally in line with some given theme, and rarely available anywhere else. This year, the theme for Zunior's collection is inspired by "XMAS - The Beatmas" by The Rubber Band. On that album, Beatles music was paired with lyrics to Christmas standards. For the "2011 Zunior Holiday Blender", the holiday lyrics are paired with classic Canadian hits. So Frosty is done to the music of Neil Young's "After The Goldrush", "Silent Night" is done to the tune of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At Night" and so on. Where the tune is instantly recognizable to us Yanks, as on the two mentioned, the concept works very well. Where, the song is not instantly recognizable to Americans, the concept works less well (for Americans). In any case, the Zunior collections are always unique and well worth at least checking out. While there, you might as well check out the 2010 Country Blues Christmas and the 2009 Peanuts Christmas collections. I don't believe the 2007 Instrumental collection is available any longer, but the 2006 collection is. All proceeds from any of Zunior's holiday collections goes to Canada's Daily Bread Food Bank.

Jeff Stoneking use to run the Christmas blog Twelve Months Of Christmas. The blog is still there but, after encountering a number of adversities and set backs, Jeff hasn't posted in a while. But, back in 2008, Jeff put together this collection of Indie Christmas tunes to benefit Wayside Waifs, a no-kill animal shelter in Kansas City, MO.

The Wayside Waifs CD had some truly unique offerings, including a version of "Xmas Song" by Fireflies that was recorded specifically for this collection. Other cool contributions came from R. Stevie Moore, Matthias Rowe, The Harvey Girls, ShiSho, and the Zen Doggies. For the first time, I believe, the collection is available digitally (through Bandcamp) for a minimum donation of $5. And, if your interest is in a hard copy version, I believe you can still get those here for a minimum donation of $10. All profits from the sale of this collection go to Wayside Waifs.

1. The Chanukah Cha Cha2. Nine Words3. We Need A Little Chanukah4. The Fruitcake That Ate New Jersey5. A Good Old Down Home Country Chanukah6. Eight Is Better Than One7. Don't They Know (Not Everyone Does Christmas)8. Latkes, Shmatkes9. Chanukah Shalom10. I Hate Holiday Music11. The Jew In A Gentile World Blues12. How Does Santa Know?

Housewife, mother of two, and award winning cabaret performer Lauren Mayer had written a song--a song which NPR had chosen to feature as an example of "bad holiday music". The song was "The Fruitcake That Ate New Jersey". And rather than take NPR criticism as a sign to do less, Mayer took it as a sign to do more. "Latkes, Shamatkes" is the result, an album of comedic songs in assorted styles, much of it centered on the theme of being "A Jew In A Gentile World". Lauren's got at least one fan; Dr. Demento sent word that he loved her album and was planning to featuring a few tracks on his December holiday shows (these days, the Dr. does his thing via podcast and Lauren was indeed featured on the December 17 program).

I'm not big on the cabaret style, and there's a healthy dose of that here. But Lauren covered a number of styles and, with Hanukkah music in relatively short supply, the country track--"A Good Old Down Home Country Chanukah"--and the blues track--"The Jew-In-A-Gentile-World Blues"--are certainly welcome. The "Eight Is Better Than One" rap doesn't do anything for me (nothing positive anyway). But the take-offs on "We Need A Little Christmas" ("We Need A Little Chanukah") and "Do They Know It's Christmas" ("Don't They Know (Not Everyone Does Christmas)") are pretty amusing. And the more-or-less straight song "How Does Santa Know?" was also worthy. "Latkes, Shamtkes" is no Meshugga Beach Party album, but you can probably find some useful selections here.

There's still good Christmas music coming out and there are still some things you can only get through iTunes. This is a collection you should find a place for, if you can. Barnardo's is a UK based Children's Charity. They were founded in 1867 by Thomas Barnardo who was appalled that children were living in the streets of London and being forced to beg--often for others (as in Oliver Twist). Barnardo's charity now helps over 190,000 forgotten, abused, and exploited children every year, as well as their families.

This year, the organization decided to do a Christmas album, with a worldwide digital launch through iTunes on December 12. A lot of great artists contributed their time and their music to this effort and all proceeds will be going to Barnardo's. Listening to some of the tracks (there are a host of YouTube clips and the iTunes samples are 90 seconds long), it's easy to see the artists took this effort seriously. These aren't tossed together Christmas songs; they are well thought out and well crafted, covering many aspects of the holiday season and a great deal of musical ground. There are some heartbreaking songs, here, as well as some joyous ones. And it would be kind of hard to refrain from laughing at Andy McKay's "iSong". My favorites so far (I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet) include "Her Against The Sun" from Jack, and Gill's Daughter, "Midnight" from Jack Shaw and Aine Brown, and "La La La La La" from Elliott Morris. But find your own favorites and consider "Barnardo's Alternative Christmas" this season. 19 original songs for only $9.99. That ain't bad--about 50 cents per tune. And all of it for a very worthy cause.

It's truly a JOY--a "Joy To The World", if you will--to listen to a Christmas offering where it is so apparent that the artist is actually enjoying the music he (or she or they) is (or are) making. Just listening to the easy soulful way Tim Angsten performs these holiday classics, you can feel he's really loving the music and the season. I keep telling people that that comes across yet so many big name artists keep churning out Christmas music that sounds like a chore. If it's a chore for them to make, it becomes a chore to listen to. Well, enough rant, there.

Tim Angsten was born in Wisconsin, is currently based in Texas, and makes music frequently reminiscent of the Rogue Wavers from Southern Cally. Go figure. But the Midwest and Texas influences give Tim a sound that is uniquely his own. His arrangements are fresh and the previously mentioned enjoyment really comes across. On this digital Christmas EP "Joy To The World" we get a really nicely done version of "Toyland" and a killer pop country shuffle "Go Tell It On The Mountain". And the title track might be the most enjoyable version of "Joy To The World" I've heard.

Don't forget to check out some of Tim Angsten's original music on 2008's "Driven To Drive" and last year's "Unheard Melodies". Tim's music is full of positive energy and his lyrics are stunning. And the album downloads are on sale for just $5 through Christmas. There are discounts on multiple hard copy purchases through CD Baby as well. Oh, and, by the way, join Tim's mailing list (follow Tim's directions) and he'll send you a free download of the title track, "Joy To The World". Now that's what Christmas is really all about, Charlie Brown.

Javier Colon was the winner of the inaugural season of NBC's The Voice and he turns in a fairly traditional set on this digital holiday release. You may have heard Javier's version of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" on the Rockefeller Tree Lighting broadcast. And Javier shines on "River" and "O Holy Night". Still, I can't help but feel he might have been well served to have a legitimate soul number or two on "A Very Acoustic Christmas". As it is, I think this set will mostly appeal to those who are already fans with nothing breaking through the avalanche of December releases.

1. Last Christmas Sucked2. Song For A Christmas Party3. Lonely Hearts In The Snow4. Another Vulgar Song About Santa5. The Story of Christmas Part 1: Bring Us Now Unto Bethlehem6. A Gift As Nice As You7. A Christmas-Sounding Thing I Just Kind Of Threw Together8. All The Gifts In All The World9. Mr. Macy10. Jacob Marley's Ghost11. Christmas Time Is Here Again (Less Good Interpretation)12. The Story Of Christmas Part 2: Herod13. Ruining Christmas14. Lonely Hearts In The Snow (Chef Diesel Remix)

Hard to find anything about this band. Their own web site contains nothing more than a link back to iTunes. Mistletunes has the band beginning life in Santa Monica as Life Without Chairs and releasing a Christmas album entitled "I Guess It's Christmas" in 2009. Last year, the band re-emerged as Proper Animals with a 25 track album "Too Much Christmas"--some songs carried over and many new ones. Neither "I Guess It's Christmas" nor "Too Much Christmas" remain available, but there's a new collection this year, "Ruin Christmas"--again with some of the previous holiday tunes and some new ones (I'm guessing). Oh, and Absolute Punk has the band as coming from Connecticut, which would seem to be quite a ways removed from Santa Monica. In any case, if you like your Christmas raucus, you'd best get behind this Pop Punk group since history suggests "Ruin Christmas" won't be around next year. Some explicit lyrics on a handful of tracks, so PARENTAL ADVISORY and all that. Oh, and I forgot to mention that a portion of all sales will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Gypsy Elise is Elisandrya De Sade-Way, Basque Gypsy by birth, raised in the flower-child 60s, and steeped in southern soul (seasoned liberally with cayenne pepper). Elise served her apprenticeship playing with the finest musicians in New Orleans, including The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Kermit Ruffins, and Tab Benoit. She even worked with the late Stevie Ray Vaughn for a time. Add in The Royal Blues, fine musicians all, and you've got something unique and special. Gypsy Elise & The Royal Blues know how to grab the audience and how to keep them."Yule Love" opens with a soulful doo-wop number, "My Favorite Gift". From there, the band swings through a number of different styles--jazz, blues, spiritual, R&B, traditional--all with that unique New Orleans flavor. It's all leading up to an incredible 6 minute rendition of "Auld Lang Syne", which is likely the highlight of the album. You can hear that one at Reverbnation.

The Royal Blues are hot, but it's ultimately the voice of Gypsy Elise you've come to hear--all 3 and a half octaves of it--and Elise does not disappoint. "Yule Love" is available on CD-R through Louisiana Music Factory and in digital form through Reverbnation.

PREviews

I don't know about you, but I want to see that cover art and I want to see that track list before I make my Christmas music purchasing decisions. The earlier the better. That's what we try to do for you here. We'll also try to give you a little background on the artist(s), in case they're new to you.